The Cat Mistoffelees
by ItsOnlyDallis
Summary: I am a runaway. A dead-beat. A wash up. My day consists of me waking up, walking, and falling asleep. My coat, normally shiny and black, is matted and covered in dirt. But I guess that's the way life goes when you've ran away from home.
1. Chapter 1

_I finally got back to work on my stories! Sorry everyone, I've been having major writing block, trying to come up with some new ideas (I'm still trying to work on Tugger's list as well...) and while I was going through some old files on my computer I came across this little... epilogue... first paragraph thing and got the idea for this story! So here we are. The title may change, as I (at the time of writing this) still haven't come up with one, and it probably won't turn out very good. But enjoy anyways! I'm really happy with this so far._

()()()()

I am a runaway. A dead-beat. A wash up.

My old "family" treated me like an attraction. They used me to feed their own greedy wallets. If they had needed the money, it would be different. But they didn't, so it's not.

My name is Mistoffelees. Or that's what everyone calls me at least. My real name doesn't matter anymore. I am alone.

My day consists of me waking up, walking, catching a few mice, and falling asleep. Everyday it's the exact same thing. No one wants to come near me. My coat, normally shiny and black, is matted and covered in dirt. But I guess that's the way life goes when you've ran away from home.

()()()()

The bright morning light hit my unprotected eyelids. I blinked my eyes open, slowly adjusting them to the light. I stretched my white paws in front of me. Although I'm mostly black, my paws and the bib on my chest are pure white. Well... when they're nicely groomed they're pure white. When you've been sleeping anywhere thats even remotely soft for the past three weeks, your appearance begins to matter less and less.

I strained my muscles as I stood up. Letting the few drops of dew on my fur slide down my back, I looked around. I was in a park. A playground stood before me, but there was no one on it. It was still early for humans, those lazy slobs. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon and it left the earth with a sickly orange glow. I frowned at the sight of it and marched towards the sidewalk to continue where I left off yesterday. On the path to nowhere.

My stomach growled ferociously at me and I dimly realized that I had gone more then a day without food. I made a mental note to stop at the first garbage can I came to. As I thought that, a familiar question came roaring back to the front of my mind, so powerful It actually caught me off guard for a minute. A burning question that had been pestering me for the weeks I had been out here. A question I'm sure almost everyone is faced with at some point. Don't lie. I know you've thought this too.

What's the point?

I sighed as I began thinking about it again. Was there a point? Before I made people happy. Before I entertained people. Before...

Before I was abused and not loved... but was there really a difference between that and this? I paused to look down at my dirty paws. The chunks of mud and leaves hung off them as if taunting me, telling me that I had made the wrong choice. I pursed my lips and spat at them. Looking up again, I continued my walk.

A few joggers had made it out now. They passed me without a second glance. No looks of joy and no squeals of happiness as I made a bouquet of flowers appear of of thin air. I sighed again. Maybe I should've stayed. Maybe this was a bad idea. If I turned back now, I could easily find my way home. I had grown accustomed to their brain waves along time ago, I could find them from miles away.

I had almost turned back. I had almost given up and ran back home when suddenly, out of no where a voice exploded in my mind.

_The ball! The ball! I wonder if Tugger will ask me to dance with him?_

My eyes opened wide and I stumbled a few steps back. I whipped my head around, trying to see if the noise had come from somewhere else. I knew that it was futile though, I know what things I hear in my head. I frowned as I got over the shock of the voice. Never, never had a voice been so clear in my mind before. Even if I was standing right next to the persons mind that I was reading, I couldn't get anything as clear as that.

It meant something. That much was clear. My body, my powers don't fool around with me. When they work on their own, they know what they're talking about. They were what finally persuaded me to leave home in the first place... is this where they wanted me to go? To some kitten somewhere getting ready for a ball?

I felt my heart pound as I crawled off the sidewalk. It was beginning to get a lot more crowded as people were starting to make their way towards work and I didn't want to get stepped on while I tried to search out where the voice came from.

I closed my eyes and opened up my mind. Years of practice made this almost too easy for me. I picked out the voice almost instantly. It jumped out at me from the rest of the millions of voices in this area.

_Cettie should be here soon... that's good. I need to ask her how I should do my hair._

Definitely the same cat. I could almost pin point her exact location in my head. I couldn't see her... no not yet, but I knew that if I went west for a while I would eventually run into her.

I opened my eyes again and turned to the right direction. I put one grimy white paw in front of me, and started my march towards her.

()()()()

Not even an hour later, I ended up in front of a chain link fence. It ran around the area of a large junkyard, and I wrinkled my nose at the smells that floated from it. In my mind, I could hear dozens of cats running around inside of it. I could hear each of their minds bouncing around in my head and it confused me. I had been around thousands of humans before, but I could tune them out when I needed to. Cats, apparently, are a different matter. I tried to pick out the voice that I was looking for, but it was difficult. I found her though and being so close, I could almost pin point exactly where she was. I looked up at the fence in front of me. I needed to scale the wall, then head left for a while. After that it was right turn, left turn, left turn and there she was.

Easy enough. I slithered over to the fence and linked my claws through the holes in the metal. I pulled myself up quickly and dropped silently onto the other side, my feet making barley any noise as they touched the dirt. Still, I stood perfectly still for a second, letting my eyes and mind search for anyone around me. When I was sure I was alone, I stood up straight and began walking towards the girls voice.

I could smell cats everywhere that I walked. There wasn't a spot anywhere that I sniffed that didn't have even a faint trace of some cat on it. I tried to count int my head how many cats lived here... 20... 25 maybe? I guess I could ask the kitten when I find her-

"Hey, you!"

I spun around suddenly. A black and white cat stood there, his brown eyes glaring at me. I nearly smacked myself in the face. How had I not sensed him there? All these voices inside my head were making it more difficult for me to do the things I normally do without a problem. Never mind though. He'd seen me, now. I'd weaseled out of worse things then this.

"Yes?" I asked pleasantly. He tensed into a crouched position. I nearly laughed. He thought that he could beat me in a fight. Of course, he probably could... if I didn't know how to conjure balls of energy out of thin air.

"Who are you?" he asked me skeptically, his eyes sweeping over my disturbed state.

"Mistoffelees." No need for him to know my real name.

"Why are you here?"

I opened my mouth to answer and realized that I was stuck. If I told him the truth, he wouldn't believe me. But I hadn't bothered to think up a good lie before getting in here.

"I..." A staled for time as his brown eyes narrowed further and further. I sighed. "I'm a stray and I..." I swallowed my pride, "I need some place to stay."

The cat continued to stare at me. Even if I couldn't read minds, I could tell that I had already won him over.

"Fine then." He said gruffly. "You need to see Munkustrap. Fallow me." he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction. I glanced behind me, towards where I knew the cat I needed to find was. I sighed and reluctantly turned my head back around again. Jogging to keep up, I fallowed the black and white cat in front of me as he led me deep into the junkyard.


	2. Chapter 2

_I didn't mention this before, but there is some cursing in here in case you're bothered by that kind of stuff._

_I've got nothing else to say... enjoy!_

_Note: Last chapter I know I said "epilogue" I meant prologue. I'm just to lazy to go fix it._

()()()()

His name was Alonzo. I searched through his head as we walked. He was second-in-command in the tribe that lived here. They called themselves the Jellicles. The Jellicles... it had an odd – but nice – ring to it.

As we walked though the junkyard I could feel, and see, pairs of eyes on me. They peered out from pipes and makeshift dens. They all wondered who I was, why I was here. Jumpy little tribe, I guess...

Alonzo marched ahead of me. He didn't even look back to make sure that I was still following. I guess he thought that he would hear me if I tried to leave. Please... don't make me laugh. I stayed though. Partially out of curiosity, but mostly because I knew that it would be easier for me to find my kitten if they just accepted me into this tribe.

We eventually reached a large clearing in the middle of the junkyard. Cats bustled about inside of it. A motherly looking cat was busy clearing the ground of any leftover junk, while two younger cats watched over some playing kittens. A grey tabby cat stood in the middle with his back to us. He seemed to be mumbling to himself and I could feel his brain muling something over.

"Munkustrap." Alonzo stepped towards the cat, who turned around.

"Alonzo! Where have you been? You can't just disappear, especially not right before the-... who's that?" Munkustrap's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of me. I locked eyes with him as I stepped forward.

"My name is Mistoffelees." I said, using the same name I had told Alonzo. "I'm a stray and I need a place to live." Heavyside, I hated how pathetic I sounded.

Munkustrap continued glaring at me, occasionally sharing a small glance with Alonzo. I felt myself frown. What was with these cats?

"I..." I nearly gagged on what I was about to say, "I really want to be a Jellicle."

A sharp intake of breath from Alonzo made me realize what I had said. Shit! I wanted to hit myself in the face again, but remained collected on the outside.

"What?" I asked him with fake curiosity in my voice.

Alonzo stared at me with his head slightly cocked. "I never said Jellicle.." he said quietly. I could feel every pair of eyes on me as I tried to come up with an excuse.

"Really?" I frowned and cocked my head to the side as well, "I'm sure you did."

The other cats around me continued to stare silently. Even the kittens had stopped playing to watch the scene before them.

I kept my eyes fixed on Munkustrap, knowing that he would be the one to make any big decisions in the tribe. He glared at me through his brown eyes. Thoughts ran through his head so fast that I could barley pick them up.

"Come." He said suddenly and turned towards the side of the clearing. "You too, Alonzo."

Alonzo grunted from behind me and I began fallowing the tabby. He slipped through a small opening in one of the piles of trash. I paused outside of it, revolted by the idea of climbing around in garbage, but a scratch on my back from Alonzo made me press forward.

I fallowed the grey tabby past a sheet of curtains inside of the hole and into a large room. Mats were placed around the floor and a desk was pushed up against the side wall. Munkustrap stopped as soon as we were all in the space together and he turned around to look at me. He shared a quick glance with Alonzo. I didn't watch to see what he did, but his mind told me that he had moved to block the exit. Like that would do a lot of good if I really wanted to get out.

"Now..." Munkustrap said slowly and quietly. "why are you really here... 'Mistoffelees'."

I was almost afraid of the acid dripping from his voice. I raised an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean?"

Alonzo laughed from behind me, "Don't be stupid, cat. We know why your here."

Munkustrap's head snapped up, shooting daggers into the younger toms eyes. "Alonzo, we've been over this." He said, dangerously low.

I couldn't see, but I could imagen Alonzo's head nodding furiously behind me in redemption.

Munkustrap's eye's lowered back down to mine. "Are you working for Macavity?" he asked me softly.

I felt my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. This, I had not been expecting. I wasn't even lying as I said, "I don't even know who that is."

Alonzo let out a cough from behind me that sounded an awful lot like "lier" but was silenced with another one of Munkustrap's glares.

"Listen... cat." Munkustrap growled as he looked back down at me, "You knew the name of our tribe. Even Alonzo here isn't stupid enough to tell some random cat that wanders in _that_." His brown eyes bore into my own green ones. "So how did you know?"

I tried to think something up quickly. Let's see...

_You see.. I'm actually magical and I can read minds. _Um... not going to work so well.

_I guessed? _No... no definitely not.

I sighed. This wasn't fair. Even the truth would sound like a lie to these cats. Whoever this Macavity guy was, he sure freaked them out somehow.

I looked straight into the brown eyes in front of me. "Anything I say will sound like a lie to you." I told him.

Alonzo laughed from behind me, "Yeah! You're screwed, cat! Totally screwed!"

"ALONZO!" Munkustrap barked at the young tom. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

I could hear Alonzo as he jumped up and ran back through the hole in the wall. There was silence between the two of us as Munkustrap continued to stare at me. I almost began to felt nervous as the seconds ticked by. Claustrophobia started to keep up on me and I fidgeted a bit in the tight space.

"Listen..." Munkustrap said as he leaned in close to me, "I don't like you here. I don't want you here. But... I have no reason to turn you away. I don't know how you knew the name "Jellicle" but even Macavity isn't stupid enough to send someone here who would say that." He leaned back from me and I released a breath of air that I didn't know I has been holding. "You'll sleep here." He continued as he turned his back to me. "There will be someone outside the door at all times. You are free to go anywhere in this junkyard, but if you leave, you won't be coming back in." Without turning to look at me, the tabby continued out of the den.

I sat still in the small den for a few minutes with the only reason being that I knew it would look suspicious if I left too quickly. I listened to the minds of the cat's outside. Munkustrap seemed to have called them all together to tell them of my arrival. He warned all of them to watch out for me, as I was still a possibility of Macavity's work. I could hear Alonzo cursing in his head, mainly because Munkustrap had done the opposite of what he had wanted _again._ I frowned in surprise to realize that it wasn't so much me being here that bothered him then it was that. I listened into the other cats around as well. Most of them were worried, some angry and a select few didn't seem to have a problem with me at all.

After a few minutes more, I began to get too restless to stay in the den any longer. I made my way towards the small hole. I frowned again as I looked at the filth I had to climb through to get out, but closed my eyes and got it over with.

As soon as I stepped out into the moonlight, I felt the tension raise in the air. Everything went silent, and pairs of glowing eyes seemed to stare at me from everywhere. I pursed my lips, but thrust my chin into the air as I began making my way across the round clearing. I passed the old motherly cat, who seemed to almost smile at me before turning her head around and walking off. I passed a group of kittens, not much younger then myself. They stared at me with wide, afraid eyes and tried to scramble behind each other as I got closer. I had to fight to keep my eyes from glaring at them. I began to notice a brown and white tom fallowing me hesitantly, his mind telling me that Munkustrap had ordered him to keep an eye on me. Subtle...

A soft meow from behind me seemed to make the tension rise even higher then it already was. For one brief second, all the attention had turned from me to the owner of the soft voice. I turned around, without even thinking of reading it's mind.

A very young kitten stood there. I almost missed her in the shadows of the other cats around her. She had a pretty, round face and a beautiful rust colored coat. She stared at me with wide, curious eyes, but not in the same way everyone else did. I started back at her in amazement, not only because she was the first person in a long time to offer any kind of hospitality towards me, but also because the second that I saw her I realized something.

She was the cat inside my head.


End file.
